One Small Step
by blossomjaj988
Summary: It's amazing how much can be healed with just a few small, wobbly steps.


"Just tell me what happened?"

"Look there is just no of time to explain just—"

"Elsa please just tell me. I need to know. "

"Kristoff I can't."

"Damn it Elsa," He gritted his teeth as he barged out the door. "Please."

"Kristoff there isn't enough time. Just meet us at the hospital ok?"

With a click, she was gone and with a slam of the door, he was too.

* * *

><p>She was the last person he expected to call him at this hour. Hell, she was the last person he expected to call him at all.<p>

He had been at work when he had felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. When he had pulled it out, he had blinked as he read Elsa's name across his screen.

The only reason she would be calling, the sole reason, was if something was wrong. He had gripped the phone tightly before answering, praying to God everything was ok.

They weren't.

Driving down the road all he could think about was Elsa's voice in his head. The words "accident" and "badly hurt" echoing through his mind in Elsa's unusually frantic voice; the words like venom, making his heart race.

He was an hour away, but he would make it there in half the time if he managed it. Traffic was limited, making it easy for him to fly down the highway without much protest. He knew where the cops liked to sit and he also knew that during this time, they were never there.

He gripped the steering wheel tighter as he saw the familiar "Arendelle 20 miles" sign pass by. Seeing it usually made him smile, made him happy to be home; but it only spiked his nerves, made his palms sweat.

He was terrified, for the first time, to go home. He was scared of what he would find when he made it back. It was his worst fears coming true and as he veered into the right hand lane to catch the next exit, he couldn't fight the lump in his throat.

It only grew when he pulled into the parking lot of the small hospital, spying the familiar white car near the front. Kristoff quickly parked and slammed the door before nearly running to the doors.

A soft ding sounded as he came in, the sudden rush of cold air conditioning hitting his face. It was quiet, said for the two receptionists; one busy on the phone, the other talking to a familiar blonde.

"Elsa." He muttered, making it to her side in two short strides. As she turned to face him, his heart dropped. Her eyes were red from tears and full of worry.

That wasn't good.

"Kristoff." She said, trying and failing to hide the worry in her voice.

"Where's—?"

"They're taking a look now, to see how bad the damage was. They couldn't tell when we first got here, so they had to do some tests." Elsa took a breath, gripping her arms tightly, firmly wrapped around her stomach. She had never looked this worried before and it was making Kristoff uncomfortable. "That was about 20 minutes before you got here."

"And Anna?" Elsa glanced over to the door that led to the back. There, sitting in the chair nearest the door, knees clenched tightly to her chest, her head buried between them, her knees stained with dirt and grass, was Anna.

She was sobbing, he could tell by the way her shoulder's shook. He hated seeing her cry and he knew exactly why she was too.

He walked over slowly, the lump firmly placed in his throat.

Kristoff bent down besides her, taking a deep breath before running his fingers through her hair. Anna slowly looked up, her face red and puffy from tears, and her red, blue eyes caught his.

"Kristoff?" She hiccupped, blinking at him. Then, a sudden sob escaped her and she fell into his arms. He could feel her holding on to his shirt tightly as she began to cry into his shoulder. It was then that he felt the tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Anna." He managed to whisper.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She cried into his shirt. "It's all my fault, all my fault."

"Don't say that Anna." He held her tighter as his voice broke, "It's not your fault. It was an accident."

"But it is." She wailed, gripping his shirt tighter. "I wasn't watching him. We had gone to the park and it had been such a good day. He had behaved all the way there so I let him off the leash. Sven had been so good, not running off or anything. Playing with everyone and just being such a good dog." She took a shaky breath. "Then I realized we needed to head home because Elsa was supposed to be coming. I went to get his leash from the bench and I saw his tennis ball roll into the road. One of the kids must have thrown it but Sven wasn't thinking and went after it and I saw the car and I yelled for him and tried to stop him but I wasn't fast enough and—and—" Sobs over took her quickly and she couldn't say more. Kristoff squeezed his eyes shut, silent tears falling and he felt her shake in his arms.

Damn that ball. That damn stupid ball.

"Shhhh." He whispered, his voice shaking. "It's ok Anna. It's ok."

"Please don't hate me." She whimpered.

"No, Anna. I could never hate you."

"But—But he is your best friend and he got hurt because of me being stupid and not paying attention and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Kristoff held her tightly as he stood and sat in the chair. Cradling her in his arms, he let her cry and silently did the same.

"I don't hate you Anna." He whispered into her hair. "I don't. I could never, ever hate you. I love you."

They sat there together, crying into the other, holding on tight to each other. Kristoff could have cared less if anyone was staring or even watching for that matter. His best friends were hurting, and at the moment he could only try and comfort one of them. It was killing him, the anticipation and the pain. He wasn't a man who cried in public, but there were exceptions.

Your fiancé sobbing in your arms, blaming herself for your best friend getting hit by a car was one of those exceptions.

Anna's sobs died down soon enough, both merely sitting in silent tears as they waited. Kristoff had no idea when Elsa had come and sat beside him, but he felt her small hand grip his arm when the sound of a door opening reached his ears. He looked up to see a tall, balding gentlemen standing in the doorway; his white coat surpassing his knees, stethoscope securely hanging around his neck and his glasses just barely hanging onto the edge of his nose. He wore a plaid shirt and slacks, but Kristoff only noticed the concern on the man's face.

He looked over at the group and walked over.

"I'm guessing you are Sven's owner?"

"Yes sir." Kristoff said. The man grabbed a nearby chair and dragged to them, taking a seat in front of the trio.

"Alright, well, I'm going to be honest, he's pretty banged up." Kristoff felt his heart drop and felt Anna's head turn against his chest with a small whimper.

"How bad is it?" Elsa asked thankfully. Kristoff didn't have enough courage to even try and form the words.

"Well, his back left leg took most of the blow. It's broken in two places from what we can see. A few muscles got torn as well in the break and we think one of his ribs is fractured as well, maybe two. But what we can't tell is if any major organs are damaged." Kristoff took a shaky breath and could feel the beginnings of new tears in his eyes. The doctor continued, "He's going to need surgery to repair it all. His leg is what has the most damage and will need the most fixing. Plus with the surgery, we will be able to tell if anything is damaged. But at the moment, he seems to be breathing just fine and his heart rate is normal."

"Do—do you think he will be ok?" Kristoff managed to get out. The doctor sighed,

"He'll live." The man said, his eyes looking to the strawberry blonde nestled in Kristoff's arms. Regret covered the man's face as he spoke,"But there is a chance he may never be able to use his back leg again."

The trio gasped. Kristoff gaped at the man as he squeezed the whimpering Anna closer to him. Kristoff spied Elsa raising a shaky hand to her mouth.

"The nurses are getting him prepped for surgery now. The leg itself will be easy to fix, along with the ribs, but it's the muscles we aren't sure about. We can't tell exactly what muscles are damaged and how badly. They could be worse than we think, but we aren't completely sure." A shaky sob came from Kristoff's chest and he felt Anna begin to shake once again. The doctor looked at Anna, sighing as he leaned forward. He grabbed hold of Anna's hand and Anna turned to look at him, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Anna right?"

She nodded.

"You're the one the nurses were telling me about. You carried him in didn't you? You were at the accident?"

Anna nodded again.

"You gave my nurses some trouble." He said with a sheepish grin, "You wouldn't hand him over, wouldn't even let them touch him. Is that right?"

Kristoff could see a small blush forming on her cheeks as she nodded once more. He couldn't help but grin.

Stubborn.

"I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to help him." Kristoff looked at the man. His smile was kind, his eyes filled with sincerity. "I promise you Anna, I will do everything in my power to make him better. And I never break my promises."

Anna sniffled, "Thank you." She whispered. He kissed her hand, rubbed it in reassurance and looked at Kristoff.

"You must be Kristoff, Sven's owner."

"Yeah."

"I'll make the same promise to you as well." He motioned to Elsa, "She told me how important he is to you, how close you two are. I know how you feel. My best friend was Ames, an old Foxhound my Dad got me once for Christmas. He wasn't exactly the smartest thing and got himself into some trouble once. It didn't look too good. The doctor made the same promise that I am making to the both of you. I will do everything I can to make sure he can walk. I swear on Ames I will."

Kristoff nodded as the doctor smiled in reassurance.

"A nurse will come and get you once we are done. You don't have to stay but you are more than welcome to wait. I'll make sure Molly keeps you comfortable." He turned and winked at the near by receptionist who simply rolled her eyes and smiled at him. The man laughed and began to open the door.

"What happened to him?" Anna asked, "To Ames?"

The doctor smiled at her, "He managed to live for a good 7 more years."

With a click, he was gone. Now, all there was to do was hope on a promise.

* * *

><p>"Sven, do NOT make me put the cone back on you. You know I hate it." Anna groaned. Sven froze, looking at her wide-eyed. "Mhmm. You keep messing with that nicely wrapped leg and I'm going to put it back on."<p>

The two stared at each other before Sven finally snorted in defeat and laid his head back on his pillow. Anna smiled,

"Good boy." She knelt beside him, scratching at his head. "I know it's rough buddy and I know it has to itch." He whimpered and eyed her sadly, "But you have to let it be, ok?" Sven snorted again.

Anna sighed as he licked her hand.

"It's been two days buddy and you haven't moved it a lick." Anna stared at the well-wrapped leg. A whimper caught her ear and she turned to see Sven looking at her apologetically. She smirked at him, "I know you're strong buddy and these things take time but, if you can, it would be nice if you could move it. Please? For when Kristoff get's home?"

Sven just stared at her; his eyes unreadable and Anna sighed in helpless defeat. She leaned in close, letting her forehead rest against his.

"Please Sven. Please get better. I need you to walk again. It would help me just as much as you. Please. I—I couldn't bare it if—" She stopped, feeling a small lump growing in her throat. It had been hard since his surgery to grasp the fact that it really wasn't her fault. She had blamed herself nearly every day for what had happened. No matter how many times Kristoff reassured her it wasn't, no matter how many times he had held her and whispered the reassurances in her ear, she still felt the large bubble of guilt in her stomach every time she looked at Sven.

He couldn't walk because of her. He couldn't even stand because of her. He had to be carried everywhere. And every single time Kristoff picked him up, every time Sven whimpered or showed any sign of pain, her heart dropped and the guilt she had grew.

She had hoped, prayed, dreamed that Sven would be able to walk when the cast came off. Would easily run out the doctor's office and into her arms. But that hadn't been the case. He had to be carried; the doctor with his comforting eyes only saying it was because he was just used to not using it was all. He just needed time to get used to having it back. That most likely by the time Kristoff returned from his business trip, he would be fine.

But it had been two days, Kristoff was coming home today at any minute, and Sven had yet to move.

She felt a tongue gently lick her cheeks as she leaned away, getting rid of her silent tears. She giggled, sniffled, "You're such a good dog Sven."

They sat in silence for a moment, Anna mindlessly humming and stroking his fur when the sound of a door unlocking caught their ears.

"He's home!" Anna stood immediately, running to the door to see her lover standing in the doorway. It had been a long four days without him here.

"Hey feistypants." He said with a smile as she jumped into his arms. "I missed you." Anna pulled away and kissed him,

"I missed you too. How was work?"

"Eh," He said with a grin, "It was work. Boring. Cold. Long. How was home?"

"Well, Elsa and I went shopping Tuesday and managed to get a few things."

"A few?"

"Shut up." Playfully sticking out her tongue. "Then Wednesday I stayed home and cleaned and what not, watched some shows and—Kristoff?" Anna looked as his now astonished face. "Is it really that surprising that I cleaned? I know I'm messy but—" She was cut off by him placing her back on her feet. "Kris what is it?" She looked at his eyes and saw that he was looking across the room. She turned, following his gaze and gasped.

There, standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen, was Sven, his tongue dangling from his mouth in happiness.

Anna felt tears forming in her eyes, her hand covering her mouth as she watched Kristoff kneel to the floor.

"Come on Sven." He whispered. "Come—come here."

Sven hesitated for a moment, eyeing them both with unsure eyes.

"You can do it Sven." Kristoff murmured, his voice noticeably shaky. "Come greet your best friend."

Sven's tail began to wag and slowly, ever so slowly, he began to walk across the room. He was wobbly, barely placing any pressure on his leg, but it was enough. Tail wagging, his tongue dangling happy from his mouth, he listened to Kristoff's encouraging words and finally made it into his friend's arms.

"Good boy Sven. Good boy." Kristoff said, his voice cracking but a large smile on his face. Anna smiled too, laughing with happiness as she watched the two friends get re-acquainted, smiling and barking as they did so.

They were both now fully healed.


End file.
